Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, is a federal law. It allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. The law defines agency records subject to disclosure. It outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the law.[1] It was originally signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, despite his doubts,[2][3] on July 4, 1966 and went into effect the following year.[4]
Freedom Of Information Act (United States) Media
An example of an E-FOIA request. This particular request concerns possible records the FBI might have on the Polybius urban legend.
Freedom of Information Act requests have led to the release of information such as this letter by J. Edgar Hoover about surveillance of ex-Beatle John Lennon. A 25-year battle by historian Jon Wiener based on FOIA, with the assistance of lawyers from the ACLU, eventually resulted in the release of documents like this one.
U.S. Department of Justice headquarters
References
- ↑ Branscomb, Anne (1994). Who Owns Information?: From Privacy To Public Access. BasicBooks.
- ↑ "FOIA Legislative History". The National Security Archive. The National Security Archive. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ↑ Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley. "Lyndon B. Johnson: "Statement by the President Upon Signing the "Freedom of Information Act.", July 4, 1966". The American Presidency Project. The American Presidency Project. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ↑ Metcalfe, Daniel J. (23 May 2006). "The Presidential Executive Order on the Freedom of Information Act" in 4th International Conferene of Information Commissioners. : 54–74. Retrieved on 20 June 2013.
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